Gay rights site calls for sports talk hosts' suspension

Dec. 10, 2012
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Gabrielle Ludwig, 50, a transexual basketball player at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA stands with her team during a game at the Contra Costa "Comets" Tournament on the Contra Costa College campus in San Pablo, CA on Saturday, December 1, 2012. / Martin E. Klimek for USA TODAY Sports Media

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

A gay rights website is calling for the suspension of two sports talk radio hosts for what it says were "disgusting" comments.

Outsports.com, which says its "mission is to build the broadest, deepest, most informative and most entertaining gay sports community," says that Washington, D.C., area radio hosts Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban should be suspended for on-air remarks made in discussing this USA TODAY Sports Media story about Gabrielle Ludwig, 50, a transgender playing basketball on a women's junior college team.

The hosts, on an ESPN affiliate, issued a short apology Monday for remarks that included Czaban saying "whatever you've got to do to scratch that inner itch and quell those inner demons, that's fine. But don't go playing sports then. (And don't say) I've got the rights of everyone else."

The pair remain on-air, but the site argues they should be suspended because "these are disgusting remarks ... meant to demean another human being who has broken no laws and no rules."

Chuck Sapienza, vice president for programming for the station, AM 980, Monday said that Pollin and Czaban had "made remarks that were extremely insensitive and their actions were dealt with internally in a swift manner. Due to the language of their contracts we are not allowed to comment publicly on any disciplinary actions."